White metals are great for those who prefer to tone down the bling effect. When it comes to jewelry, there are many white metals that can be used for making jewelry. most of these white metals are considered ideal for encrusting precious gems and stones and have been used by jewelers since time immemorial. Some of the world’s most famous crowns and tiaras have all been encrusted in platinum. Though platinum continues to enjoy the reputation of being the most precious and luxurious metals of all, we cannot ignore the presence of other white metals like palladium, white gold and even stainless steel. Let us compare all these metals on various accounts.
1. COLOR:
When you consider the color, though all these metals appear white, there is a difference in the degree of whiteness. Platinum and Palladium are the whitest followed by white gold. White gold and palladium are often polished by rhodium that gives it extra whiteness and shine. The color of these metals is determined by their composition. While platinum and palladium are naturally white metals, white gold is derived after mixing normal gold with an alloy to make it white. However, jewelers consider white gold and platinum ideal for diamond settings.
2. DURABILITY:
When we talk of durability, platinum is undoubtedly the hardest, followed closely by palladium as they both belong to the same family. White gold is much less harder as compared to these two. Gold is more malleable making it less durable as compared to platinum and palladium. steel is also highly durable, will never rest, is resistant to damage and almost impossible to scratch.
3. SENSITIVITY:
All these white metals are hypo-allergenic and do not cause any kind of allergic reaction. Only gold has a small percentage of nickel, which could cause allergies in very rare cases. Gold is also alloyed with palladium to create white gold.
4. COST:
When it comes to costs, platinum is the most expensive because of its rarity. It is even rarer than gold. Palladium is less expensive than platinum and its prices can be compared to that of white gold. People these days often opt for palladium as it is not as costly as platinum, yet has the look and feel of platinum and does not have any alloy.
5. PURITY:
In terms of purity, platinum and palladium are the purest as they are present 90%-95% in any jewelry. White gold is less pure as normal pure gold is mixed with another metal to get white gold. Similarly, stainless steel is also an alloy and scores the least in terms of purity.